The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1887-03-24
POULTRY FIELDING.
Green Food Necessary to the WeIl-Being Of
All Kinds of Fowls.

All Kinds of Fowls.
Poultry of all kinds relish green food,
and do not long continue in health
without it. Leaves Of cabbage, turnip,
and the general waste of the garden,
should be thrown to them, altng with
scraps from the house and insects. The
run of paddock is excellent, and in a
straw-yard they find plenty to eat, and
employ themselves in scratching. which
promotes their health and happiness.
The great difficulty with most people
who'keep fowls is to spare them sufii-
cient room for good run; and where a
well-kept garden is desired the birds
are cooped up in small Enclosure,
where they can not prosper, and at
last are voted expensive and trouble
some, and got rid of as a failure. But
better way is to rail off q good-sized
piece of ground and let the fowls have
free range over it, to pick and scratch
as they please. But this patch need
not be lost, as to the growing of gar
den crops, for there are many which
fowls will not touch, and to these it
should be, in a measure, appropriated.
To supply them with green food, plant
In it row of kale, or any kind of cab
bage; and if supplied with sufficient
green food that they like, the re-
mainder may be appropriated to
Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, broad
beans, parsnips, rhubarb, carrots,
parsley and any other pot herbs.
Kidney beans they will destroy
as soon as the pods are ripe, but not
before; so they may also be grown in the
poultry run, as may also vegetable mar
rows, pumpkins, onions, lettuce and
.urnips; but the last five are apt to be
scratched up when young, and may need
the protection Of net, or coop, or a
few hurdles round the beds in their ear
lier stages; but when strong the protec-
ton may be removed. Of course, the
poultry yard will not be the the tidiest
part of the garden, but compromise is
better than doing an injustice to the
birds, and it may be effected without
total sacrifice to them of the ground
they require to have sufficient liberty to
prosper. Plenty of clean water, gravel
and broken oyster shells, or old mortar,
should be kept in all poultry yards as
Indispensable Without lime in some
shape fowls will not lay so many eggs
as if well supplied with it.
Ducks are good birds for small hold
ers. A little ditch to paddle in, or even
tub sunk in their run, will serve them
almost as well as apond; but, like other
poultry, plenty of room in a paddock is
an advantage. Young ducks allowed
to run through kitchen garden do
vast deal Of good, by destroying ver-
min, and, at the same time, thrive upon
the food they get They are apt to
tread down young crop, and that
must be guarded against by inclosing
the bed with some nets OF hurdles. The
Aylesbury ducks are the most priced,
and are most prolific layers. They are
bad mothers, however, and it is best to
put the eggs under cochin hen and
confine the brood for the first week, to
keep them from the water. Their first
food shonld be boiled eggs and boiled
nettles; then change to boiled barley.
and after that they may feed with the
others; but they want little if they can
forage for themselves. A good feed
twice day of boiled grain, with the
run Of the place, soon fattens them; but
they should be shut close the last fort
night and no insect food allowed them,
or their flesh will be rank. Farmer and
Qbember of agriculture Journal.